


Everything

by TigStripe



Series: Inspired by Leo Rising [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Devotion, Inspired by Music, M/M, Mild Angst, One Shot, Overprotective Oliver, angry Barry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 00:23:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17011974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigStripe/pseuds/TigStripe
Summary: Barry confronts Oliver after being refused "for your own good" yet again.





	Everything

_Thump, thump_

It was the sound of Barry’s heart in his ears. He’d been hearing it for hours, and he continued to hear it as he rode the elevator down to the Bunker in Star City for the meeting he’d set up with the Green Arrow. It was easy to be nervous around Oliver Queen, but it was especially nerve wracking when being around him came with the price of pissing him off.

_Thump, thump_

Barry took a deep breath, closing his eyes and drawing on that inner fire everyone kept telling him he had. As the elevator opened in front of him, he stepped out onto the floor of the Bunker, barely conscious of the others in the room. There, standing beside Felicity at her computer, was Oliver Queen in his Green Arrow garb, sans hood and mask, with his arms crossed and his head down, thinking. Barry felt his mouth go dry as Oliver looked up at him, alerted to their visitor by the sound of the door swishing open.

“Can we have the room, please?” Oliver said, eyes locked onto Barry’s and a scowl on his face.

_Thump, thump_

Felicity and the others removed themselves quickly, with Felicity giving Barry a quick thumbs up as she exited the room. Barry took another steadying breath before taking a step forward.

“Don’t even try it.” Oliver’s voice was stern. Heavy. He’d already had this conversation with Barry, and was getting tired of repeating himself.

“I’m not giving up on this,” the speedster replied, his own face scowling now. “Why won’t you just hear me out?”

“Because there’s nothing _to_ hear out, Barry.” Oliver turned his back to his friend and closed his eyes, trying not to picture the hurt look that Barry would likely adopt. “It's a fool's errand. I’m not right for you, so just drop it.”

_Thump, thump_

But Barry was having none of this cold shoulder shit. With his own voice stern and his shoulders squared, he called out to his ally and friend. “You’re going to listen to me, Oliver.” He summoned the fire within, taking another steadying breath as Oliver turned back to look at him, his eyes wide in surprise.

Taking a moment to overcome the initial shock of being talked back to so directly in his own secret lair, Oliver’s face fell back into a concentrated leer. “Okay, Barry, I’m listening.”

_Thump, thump_

“You’ve told me we can’t be together already,” the speedster started, “because you come from some dark place of eternal despair or torment or something stupidly edgy like that. You don’t think a person like me should be around a person like you. It’s like you’re trying to protect me from you.”

“That’s because I am, Barry.” Oliver’s expression softened, but it looked no less serious than before. Now, it looked almost _hurt_ . “I'm not a good person, and you have this-” He struggled, trying to find the word. “This _light_ about you. I’ll just snuff it out.”

“Oh, that is such crap and you know it,” Barry countered, his voice getting a little louder. “You surround yourself with people just like me to keep you out of the dark. I want in.”

The archer shook his head. “The answer is no, Barry. I can’t risk you getting-”

“Don’t act like this is some big noble act, Ollie!” Barry’s voice had officially reached shouting status. “I’m not some innocent puppy you have to protect! I’m a grown-ass man - one with super powers, I might add - who can take care of himself, and I know what I want!”

The slight shift in Oliver’s stance signaled his discomfort, but he didn’t argue. When he spoke, his voice was hushed. “And what do you want, Barry?”

Barry straightened up to his full height, his eyes deadlocked on Oliver’s face. His voice steady and controlled, the speedster spoke. “I want you. _All_ of you.”

_Thump, thump_

There was no response. The two stared at each other for what felt like a millennia to a speedster.

But that wasn’t all. “I want everything, Ollie. I want your grimdark existence. I want your rare smile. God, your smile is beautiful.” Oliver averted his eyes. “I want to hear the beating of your heart in my ears as I lean against you. I want to feel your skin under my fingertips. I want the grins and the laughs. I want the tears and the pain.” Still focused on his face, Barry whispered. “I want your everything.”

After a moment of Barry’s words bouncing around in his head, Oliver finally lifted his eyes to look at the speedster. Barry was pretty sure they were glistening in the harsh lights of the Bunker, a sight he was not expecting. The man’s expression, however was not a positive one.

“Barry, I-” He broke off and took a deep breath, eyes trying to find refuge somewhere before resting once again on Barry’s face. “I can’t give you that. I'm too damaged. Too broken. I don’t deserve someone like you, who sees me for me, warts and all.”

_Thump, thump_

The visitor joined the vigilante near the computers, a gentle smile on his face. “I will watch you push me away again and again,” he said softly, his gaze met by Oliver’s, “and that will never be a true statement. I will be here, Ollie, and I will _still_ be here later. I’ll love you even more in the future, whether you think you’ve earned happiness or not.” He reached out and took Oliver’s hand in his, looking down at their interlocking fingers. “You say I have a light in me, Oliver, but you have one, too. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t still be doing this to me, trying to protect me by keeping me at arm’s length.”

Oliver pulled away, his eyes downcast. “That...means a lot to me, Barry. Thank  you.”

There was more to that statement. “I hear a but coming.”

There was a little chuckle, a sound that made Barry’s heart do a backflip. “There’s no but.” He looked up at the speedster, the faintest smile threatening to crease his face. “It’s a lot to consider. But I will. Consider it, I mean.”

Barry gave him a big, toothy grin, his eyes twinkling in the Bunker’s fluorescent lighting. “I want everything about you, Oliver Queen. And I’ll be here until you’re comfortable enough to give it to me.”

The ends of Oliver’s mouth turn up, and he gave Barry a soft, hesitant smile.

_Thump, thump_


End file.
